The Berlin Model: Education for Post-Professional Activities (BANA) is an innovative continuing education program for individuals aged 45 and over, providing access to current scientific knowledge. The BANA lecture series at the Technische Universität Berlin is open to the public and addresses contemporary and socially relevant issues. The format encourages dialogue with civil society and allows participants to engage with the lecturers after each talk – through questions, suggestions or comments. The lecture series in the summer semester of 2026 will be organized and conducted in cooperation with the scientists of the ECDF. The first  lecture in the series will take place on May 4, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

1. Lecture:

Urban Buildings and AI – Future-Oriented Planning Tools for the Building Sector

Rita Streblow

Teaser

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the building sector – but is it just hype or a real opportunity? The presentation shows how machine learning and generative AI can help address key challenges such as high system complexity, customized building design and insufficient data management. Using practical examples from building automation, model predictive control and automated modeling, it highlights the potential of data-driven methods. The scope ranges from individual buildings to entire urban districts, including applications in the planning and operation of urban energy concepts. The lecture demonstrates how AI can serve as a tool to support planning operational and decision-making processes in the building sector.

Rita Streblow served as ECDF Professor for "digital networking of buildings, energy supply systems and users" at Technische Universität Berlin from December 2019 until the end of 2024. Since 2025, she has been an associated member of the ECDF and holds an extraordinaty professorship at RWTH Aachen University. 

2. Lecture:

Cycling in Berlin with SimRa – An app to increase road safety

David Bermbach

Teaser

Even if they do not always lead to accidents, dangerous situations are not uncommon for most cyclists in Berlin. The project "SimRa – Safety in Cycling" collects privacy-compliant information about hazards faced by cyclists in cities. Using a smartphone app, GPS data are recorded and acceleration sensors are used to detect dangerous situations, such as sudden braking maneuvers. Users can categorize the recorded hazards and upload them in pseudonymized form, allowing them to retain control over their data. The aim is to obtain a comprehensive picture of cycling traffic and specific danger spots in order to improve cycling safety. SimRa is part of a citizen science initiative at Technische Universität Berlin and is now being used in many other German cities.

David Bermbach is head of the "scalable software systems" group at Technische Universität Berlin since December 2023, which is part of the ECDF. He previously headed the "mobile cloud computing" group at Technische Universität Berlin since 2017, which was also part of the ECDF. Already for his doctoral thesis, Bermbach was analyzing data management and application architecture in geo-distributed systems, especially their quality features.

Venue: 

Einstein Center Digital Future
Conference. Hall, 1st Floor
Wilhelmstr. 67
10117 Berlin

Please note that the event will take place in German.

You can register //here.